The Academy
by Anne T.M
Summary: Captain Janeway visits the Academy after an eight month away mission. J/C


Disclaimer: This is a labor of love not profit.

Just a quick little thing that came to me last night as I tossed and turned.

The Academy

By: Anne T.M.

Atry804@aol.com

She disembarked from her ship to find Admiral Paris waiting for her. "Congratulations Captain, your mission was a complete success."

"It would have been a lot easier if I had my best pilot and chief engineer with me, not to mention my first officer." After shaking his hand she continued walking briskly toward Starfleet Headquarters. She handed him the PADD that she had been carrying. "Here are all the computer logs from the past eight months. All the information you need is there." She continued walking past the entrance of Headquarters. Her direction seemed to be the Academy.

"Captain Janeway, where do you think you are going? The President is expecting you."

"Tell the President that he can expect me in one hour."

He pulled her arm to stop her. "Kathryn, this is the president of The Federation!"

She pulled free of his hold. "Owen, I was gone for seven years. Then I get home and after one week I was shipped out for eight more months. I need one hour . Is that too much to ask?"

He nodded in agreement. He watched her as she practically ran toward the entrance to Starfleet Academy.

Before the door opened he called after her. "Room 201."

She gave him a brilliant smile and disappeared inside.

~

Kathryn slipped inside the door of room 201. Everyone but the professor noticed. He had his back to the door, and his concentration was on the picture on the screen, not the room full of first year cadets.

"As you can see, when digging up the past, it is important to work cautiously as well as meticulously." No one was listening as all eyes were riveted on their unexpected guest.

A voice spoke up from the back of the room. "I don't know professor, I think sometimes it is more important to throw caution to the wind and dig in."

He snapped to attention at the sound of her voice. He walked a few paces away from the giant screen in the front of the lecture hall. He now had everyone's undivided attention. He placed on foot on the first step and leaned forward. "Even if, as you say, you dig in, there are many important lessons that we can learn from examining the past."

The cadets in class were in awe as they watched The Starship Captain challenge their professor.

She went down two of the many steps that led to the front of the room. "That's true but often people get too bogged down in the past that they forget to live in the present."

The man who stood in the front of the room took two steps toward the woman who was so easily challenging his assumptions. "You do know what they say about the past, those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it."

She slowly descended two more steps. "I'll concede that it is important to examine the past in order to stop ourselves from repeating our mistakes. And I have, and I won't."

The class began to fidget as they sensed that this conversation had many layers that they could not begin to understand. Someone on the far side of the room compared them to two magnets drawn together by the sheer force of nature.

"Usually only exceptional students are able to learn from the past." He cautiously took one step closer.

She did the same. "I have always been a quick study."

He took another step closer to her. "There is something to be said for the extreme joy that can be gained from slow meticulous work."

One of the girls in the middle row was holding her breath as she realized that something big was about to happen.

They were now a mere four steps from each other. "It has been years since I did anything that meticulous."

He cut their distance in half. "Years?"

"Seven years, eight months and one week, to be exact." She held his gaze as she took one last step.

"Perhaps you need a private history lesson with special attention paid to the art of slow meticulous work." He was now one step away. She could feel the heat of his body radiating toward her.

"Can you recommend anyone?" She took the final step and stood in front of him.

"I have just the right professor in mind." Then he bent down and picked her up in his arms and spun her around. Before he settled her on the floor he heard her whisper in his ear, "Chakotay, I love you."

She slid down his body until her feet reached the floor. His arms were still around her back. He looked in her eyes and could wait no longer. "Lesson one…" His lips descended toward hers and he lived out a fantasy that he had harbored for almost eight years. The feel of her hand tapping his shoulder brought him out of his reverie. She mouthed a few words to him. He looked around the lecture hall and said "Class dismissed."

"You dismissed them with great authority," she teased.

"I learned from the best." Before she knew it, his lips were on hers once again. Neither one noticed the stares of the departing cadets as they quickly exited room 201.

The End


End file.
